The National Air and Space Museum commemorates the history of flight and educates and inspires people through its collections, exhibitions, research, and programs related to aviation, space flight, and planetary studies.

Model, Lunar Lander, Surveyor, 1/5 Scale

This is a 1/5 scale model of the Surveyor spacecraft, which was used by NASA and Hughes Aircraft Company engineering teams for demonstration and technical discussions during the soft-landing lunar program. This miniature spacecraft was built by Hughes model makers working from original plans of the flight spacecraft. It closely represents the Surveyor III spacecraft that was later examined by the Apollo 12 astronauts. Five of the seven spacecraft built by Hughes for NASA successfully landed on the moon during the period from June 1966 to January 1968, paving the way for a manned landing on the Moon. Object is currently on display in the Exploring the Planets gallery, NASM 207.

The Surveyor probes were the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the Moon. The main objectives of the Surveyors were to obtain close-up images of the lunar surface and to determine if the terrain was safe for manned landings. Each Surveyor was equipped with a television camera. In addition, Surveyors 3 and 7 each carried a soil mechanics surface sampler scoop which dug trenches and was used for soil mechanics tests and Surveyors 5, 6, and 7 had magnets attached to the footpads and an alpha scattering instrument for chemical analysis of the lunar material. The following Surveyor missions took place.

This is a 1/5 scale model of the Surveyor spacecraft, which was used by NASA and Hughes Aircraft Company engineering teams for demonstration and technical discussions during the soft-landing lunar program. This miniature spacecraft was built by Hughes model makers working from original plans of the flight spacecraft. It closely represents the Surveyor III spacecraft that was later examined by the Apollo 12 astronauts. Five of the seven spacecraft built by Hughes for NASA successfully landed on the moon during the period from June 1966 to January 1968, paving the way for a manned landing on the Moon. Object is currently on display in the Exploring the Planets gallery, NASM 207.

The Surveyor probes were the first U.S. spacecraft to land safely on the Moon. The main objectives of the Surveyors were to obtain close-up images of the lunar surface and to determine if the terrain was safe for manned landings. Each Surveyor was equipped with a television camera. In addition, Surveyors 3 and 7 each carried a soil mechanics surface sampler scoop which dug trenches and was used for soil mechanics tests and Surveyors 5, 6, and 7 had magnets attached to the footpads and an alpha scattering instrument for chemical analysis of the lunar material. The following Surveyor missions took place.